Developing in a turning tide

Local developer Bill Struever paddles a kayak from his office at the Tide Point development in the Inner Harbor.

Local developer Bill Struever paddles a kayak from his office at the Tide Point development in the Inner Harbor. (AP photo)

Jon GoldsteinSunSpot Staff

Bill Struever is the president of Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse. As possibly the city's busiest developer and most voluble popularizer of the 'Digital Harbor,' SunSpot caught up with him recently to find out how his company is adjusting to the tech slowdown.

Has the current economic downturn, especially in the technology sector, caused you to retrench at all?

We think the underlying opportunity of Baltimores waterfront remains terrific. I think Baltimores strength has always been its diverse economic base. As more development happens around the harbor, we see only a growing demand. Part of that growing demand is a broadening of the base of users who are interested. One example of this is non-profits, such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Catholic Relief Services. These national and international organizations want to be near Washington. They're here in part because they love cities, and Baltimore is the best city close to Washington to live in, to raise a family in and to work in. For those organizations that want to be on the 95 corridor, which is really the techie highway, that want to be near Northern Virginia but dont want the headaches, who would like to be near Washington but dont want the expense, this is the place.

Have you been seeing more business with biotech firms?

Biotech and health-related technology companies remain a vigorous and growing part of the economy. Even as some of the IT and Internet related companies are struggling, we are seeing a substantial amount of activity on the biotech front. People want to be near Hopkins, the University of Maryland and UMBC.

Has that picked up all the slack for the crashing dot-coms?

Again, you are looking at a broad base. Between these nonprofits and some of these international organizations, weve seen some of the biggest prospects that weve ever seen in the last three months. We still have a good deal of business with tech companies. There still are small growing companies that are doing fine even though others are struggling. We just did a deal with a nonprofit to do a 22,000 sq. ft. day care center downtown, an engineering company relocating from out of town and a brand new start-up tech company. Those were all within the last four weeks.

So your business hasnt slowed at all?

Certainly we have some tenants that are struggling. TidePoint Corp., its no secret, bit the dust. Advertising.com is doing very well financially but they need less space. Theyve adjusted their growth projections, so they are subleasing some space. To me the issue is the underlying dynamics of the Baltimore real estate opportunity. Its based on an incredible waterfront that transcends economic cycles and industry segments...our universities, our proximity to Washington, all those things.

You dont see a downturn then in the local real estate market?

Well, certainly, one part of the market has definitely cooled off. Thats the tech part, especially that kind of younger tech company that was growing explosively. Theyre just not anymore. Some are shrinking, a few are dying, and others are doing fine but just growing more slowly.

Some of these tech companies were in your buildings. Are you concerned about your Tide Point development in Locust Point?

At Tide Point we need to re-lease the TidePoint Corp. space and thats basically it. Its great space at a great price and were confident that well have no problem doing it. It just may not be to another tech company. We believe thats theres going to be demand for other space, properly located and priced. We are doing an office building in Fells Point with 220,000 square feet of space. Quality and location of space are important in any market and only more important when things get slower.

Mayor Martin OMalley went to the state recently to request $300 million over five years for the Digital Harbor. He ended up getting $90 million. What problems does that pose for the concept?

The idea he was trying to establish was thinking big about public infrastructure for Baltimore. Baltimore has been behind in public transportation and public parking for years. We have great public spaces that are falling apart. Its pathetic. Former Mayor William Donald Schaefer was the first one to come up with the idea that old, industrial, urban waterfronts had a new life in the mid-'70s when he created the Inner Harbor as a public space and launched this idea of a 7 1/2-mile waterfront promenade. Twenty-five years later, its still not done. Baltimore for years has tried to do its waterfront on the cheap by asking private owners to pay for public parks. I think what OMalley did and what the governor has now bought into is that the promenade is a public park of great economic impact. They are starting to put together a plan now to get the promenade done and done right. Thats what OMalley bought into as a plan of action for the next five years and, I think, the state has agreed that hes right. It also includes ramps to and from 95 for the Montgomery Ward site and West Side public improvements. Eleven million dollars of it was for the 10-block connection up Broadway between Hopkins and the Fells Point waterfront.

Whats he missing, though? He got less than a third of what he asked for.

You should sit down with the city and go through the program. Its a major first step and the beginning of large-scale planning. Prince Georges County has over $3 billion worth of publicly funded transportation and transit improvements under way and Baltimore had almost none. This is the beginning of bigger thinking and we are hopeful that there will be more to come.

Whats next for Struever Bros.?

Were very active in our market area, including Wilmington, Harrisburg and Frederick. Baltimores just a part of what we do. But youve just begun to see whats going to happen to Baltimores waterfront. Urban America has seen a big comeback in recent years. Baltimore, if anything, has been slow. To some extent, I think our being a little behind the curve has been to our advantage. Whether its been in building aquariums or stadiums we often have not been the first but we see what other people do and we do the best. In the '50s and '60s a lot of cities tore themselves down. We were slow and we didnt do it. We left a lot of wonderful buildings and great architecture. Its to our advantage.